Mehrem

01

Illiyeen

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I slowly opened my eyes. It took me a few seconds to read the room. White Ceiling and walls, light-beige blinds rolled up, Wires attached to my body, a machine beeping, and the ugly hospital gown.

I shifted my head in different directions but saw no one. Then I heard a slight movement from the doors. I tried to push my body, but it was too much. Rohan came into my mind. How was he? How is Mom? Where is everyone?

The door opened, and some doctors and nurses walked beside him and entered the room. "Good Evening, Ms. Bajwa. I am Doctor Massod. How are you feeling?" said the tallest man. "I don't know," I replied in a low-toned voice. "What happened to me? Where is my family?" I asked. My head ached too much for me to focus on anything. I blinked a few times.

A nurse approached me with a temperature scanner. She took some time reading the weird numbers on my machine and noting them down on the paper. Doctor Massod explained the whole car accident. He said I was in a coma (unconscious) for four weeks. Because I was driving and the truck hit my car from the left, I suffered a head injury and a few minor injuries on my body.

Doctor Massod asked the nurse holding some paper to pass the file. "This is Nurse Gulnaz. She is very competent, and she will be taking care of you. If you need anything, feel free to ask her." I looked at her. She looked like a woman in her late 20s, dark-skinned, with short curly hair, about 5'5, and an alluring smile. I nodded my head. I was still curious to know where my family was.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked politely. Doctor Massod replied yes, without looking up. "Where is my family? When can I go home?" The doctor closed the file and passed it to the nurse. "Well, your family is quite a hassle. We only allow one person to stay the night with a patient. Your family they are debating who is going to stay tonight. It seems they all want to."

This is my family. Crazy. Loving. Over protective.

"As for discharging, we must keep you under observation for now. It was a long coma. We need to run some tests, and according to the results, we will decide." The doctor put on an assuring smile and exited the room.

***

I was alone in the room for a long time. Then, finally, my younger brother, Rohan, rushed to open the door and hugged me.

"Ouch," I screamed in pain.

"Sorry, Sorry, Sorry," Rohan said, wiping his tears. If it were any other day, I would not believe Rohan was crying for me. We fight all the time, and we disagree on every topic. So, to see him shed tears for me brought tears to my eyes. Rohan pulled a chair next to the bed and sat on it. I put my hand on his face, and he started crying.

"Rohan, Hey. Talk to me. What's wrong?" I cupped his face with my left hand. He sniffed and tried to hold back tears. Then, he went in for a hug again. This time, I used my arms to hug him back.

"You were not waking up. I thought you would never wake up. You know I'm sorry. I fought with you and was being an asshole on the phone. You got distracted, and the whole accident... It's my fault." Bending his head downward, Rohan was caressing my hands. Tears kept flowing down his face.

I kept staring at him. This little kid is all grown up now. He finally accepts his mistakes. My mind went astray for a minute. Finally, my voice cracked and came out as a whisper, " Rohan, It was not your fault. Don't you ever repeat it? Understood? It was me. I should've paid attention. I was too invested in our conversation. Hmm," I brought his face closer to my body and wiped away his tears. He protested, but at last, He nodded in confirmation.